


You and I, We're the Lucky Ones

by OhYaBettaDont



Category: Pocket Monsters: Sword & Shield | Pokemon Sword & Shield Versions
Genre: Childhood Friends, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Gloria's POV, Pokemon Battle, Timeskip
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-13
Updated: 2020-01-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:54:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,680
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22234381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OhYaBettaDont/pseuds/OhYaBettaDont
Summary: Being Galar's Champion has kept Gloria busy -- too busy to keep in touch with friends. She begins to realize what she's been missing out on when she gets a visit from her old friend Hop.
Relationships: Hop/Yuuri | Gloria
Comments: 3
Kudos: 145





	You and I, We're the Lucky Ones

**Author's Note:**

> In case there's confusion, I headcanon Leon as non-binary with he/they pronouns so Gloria and Hop will refer to Leon using "they" pronouns in this story.

Gloria never minded living on her own. In fact, it was refreshing some nights to come home to an empty penthouse after a long day of being surrounded by crowds and having cameras pointed at you. Nobody had told her how little privacy you got as Galar Champion.

Of course, she was never truly alone as long as she had her Pokémon. They were her best friends, after all. She never got tired of being around them, especially since she’d fallen out of touch with most of her human friends. Nobody had told her that would happen, either. But, after ten years as Champion, she'd gotten used to her daily routine: every day, she would get up early for warm-ups and training with her Pokémon, then she would have a battle or two at Wyndon Stadium, and after that would be some sort of interview or press conference, usually followed by a long sit-down supper with someone important. And all day, a crowd of fans would follow her around, pointing their Rotom Phones at her.

Some nights, she would be out late because of her obligations as Champion. Tonight had been one of those nights. On her way home from supper, as it tends to happen sometimes, Raihan had stopped her and demanded they battle right then and there. Raihan liked to pretend he was Gloria’s rival, but it was just for publicity. Gloria had no real rival anymore. The battle with Raihan had been grueling – he wouldn’t let up, even when he was losing badly – so Gloria didn’t get home until almost midnight.

It was nights like these where she was likely to fall asleep fully clothed on her couch. Her alarm was set for 6 AM, but her Pokémon almost always woke her up before the alarm got the chance to go off. Without at least six hours of sleep, she knew tomorrow would be a tough day. So she reclined on the couch, not even caring enough to take off her shoes, and instantly began to doze off…

Until there was a knock on the door. The knock made Gloria jump. Assuming it was some annoying fan who’d followed her home, she ignored it. Another knock came. She ignored it again. At the third knock, her Sylveon began brilling and scratching at the door.

That was odd. “What is it, boy?” Gloria asked. She got up and managed to stumble to the door, hoping it was someone she could slam the door on so she could go back to sleep.

The sight of the man on the other side of the door hit Gloria like a tornado. “Oh my God. Hop!”

Hop smiled back at her. It had been years since they’d spoken – her visits to Postwick had been so brief lately that she’d been lucky to see him in passing – and she could tell that he’d changed a lot. He was taller – more than a head taller than Gloria, though he hadn’t filled out like his older sibling. Hop was still lanky. Gloria also noticed the new thick-rimmed glasses he wore as well as the dark stubble growing on his chin. She thought he looked oddly handsome, especially in his button-up shirt with the sleeves rolled up.

Gloria gave her old friend a big hug. “What on Earth are you doing on this side of Galar?”

Hugging her back, Hop let out an awkward chuckle. “Oh, I came to Wyndon to do some Pokémon battling, that’s all. May I come in?”

“Of course,” Gloria stammered, releasing Hop from the hug. “Why don’t you come set? I’ll put on some tea.”

“All right.” Hop took a seat at Gloria’s round kitchen table. It was small, but Gloria hardly ever used it – on the rare occasion that she got to eat at home, she usually either ate in front of the telly or on the floor with her Pokémon.

“So,” said Gloria as she filled a kettle with water, “I didn’t know you still battled. I thought you spent all your time these days helping Sonia with her research.”

Adjusting his glasses, Hop responded, “You kidding me? Of course I still battle! Pokémon battling is in my blood, even if it is more of a hobby now.”

Gloria got out two bags of Oran Berry tea. “Cheers to that. I also hear from Raihan that Leon is still training, aren’t they?”

“Yep. From what I understand, Lee intends on challenging you again soon.”

Inadvertently, Gloria snorted. Leon had challenged her multiple times since originally losing to her, but they never won. Nobody ever won against Gloria. “I hope they don’t try pitting their Charizard against my Gyarados again.”

Hop giggled. “Oh, I remember that match. That was pretty bad, wasn’t it?”

“I got so much second-hand embarrassment when they did that,” Gloria added, trying not to laugh out loud about Hop’s older sibling. Leon may be an odd individual, but Gloria knew that Hop still looked up to them. The water was boiling now. She poured the water over the two teabags. “How many sugars?”

“Three, please.”

A smile grew over Gloria’s face. Some things would never change. “I can’t believe you still drink your tea like that,” Gloria said, shaking her head playfully.

“What? It’s good that way,” Hop replied. Although Gloria had her back to him, she could tell from his tone of voice that he was smiling.

Gloria snickered. “Yeah, it’s good that way if you don’t like tasting the tea.” She added three sugars to one of the drinks. She brought the tea out on a small tray. “So,” she started as she sat at the seat across from him, “why did you come here so late at night?”

Accepting the tea he was offered, Hop shrugged. “I tried stopping by earlier, but you weren’t around.”

Oh, right. That made sense.

“I didn’t interrupt anything, did I?” Hop asked.

Gloria remembered that she was about to fall asleep on the couch with her shoes still on when he’d knocked. She thought it best to not bring that up. “Yeah—I mean, no. I just got home, actually. Long day.”

Hop nodded slowly, like he was contemplating each word Gloria said. “The life of the Galar Champion must be a busy one, yeah?”

“I guess.” Gloria sipped her tea.

With a quiet sigh, Hop picked up his tea and held it up to his lips, letting it steam up his glasses a little. “I remember how things were when Lee was champion. Sometimes I’d be lucky to see them twice a year, what with their crazy schedule.”

Something about the way Hop said that made Gloria sad. She thought a lot about how she wished she could stay in better touch with her friends, but what could she possibly tell them that they hadn’t probably already heard in the news? And what was the point of phoning anyone if she was way too busy to make plans?

Before Gloria could think of a way to respond, Hop continued, “I’ve seen you come visit Postwick every once in a while. A few times I’ve tried saying something to you, but you’re always—”

“—Busy. I know,” Gloria interrupted. She didn’t like the way he was trying to hammer in his point like that.

Hop rolled his eyes. “I was going to say ‘distracted,’ but I guess ‘busy’ is accurate too.”

The word “distracted” bounced around in Gloria’s head. Surely Hop didn’t think Gloria worked so much to distract herself from something, did he?

Gloria looked into Hop’s gold eyes, trying and failing to decipher his words. She noticed that he’d started bouncing his leg under the table as he sipped his tea. It seemed like he was waiting for her to say something, so she spoke. “Uh, what battles are you in town for?”

“Not ‘battles.’ Just one battle,” Hop replied, his cheeks turning a little pink as his expression turned a little more serious.

“Okay, smarty pants, then what _singular battle_ are you in town for?” Gloria asked impatiently.

Hop looked down at the table for a moment, then back up at Gloria in a snap. This was something he used to do as a kid when he got excited or nervous. Or both. “I’m actually here to take you on, Champion,” he said as a grin spread across his face.

Gloria nearly dropped her teacup. “You what? I didn’t know you’re competing in the Champion Cup again!”

Pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose, Hop responded, “I don’t need to go through any of that to battle you right now.” He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the kitchen table.

“You’re kidding.” Gloria was already close to falling asleep sitting up, and she knew her Pokémon would not be happy if she made them battle past midnight.

Hop scratched his stubbly chin, a daring glint crossing his eye. It was the kind of glint Gloria used to see in him before he ran off into the Wild Area all by himself as a kid, only to arrive in Motosoke covered in cuts, burns, and stings, with that glint burning stronger than ever in his eye. “Oh, come on. If I know you, I know you can’t turn down a challenge. Don’t you want to see what your rival’s made of?”

Hearing Hop refer to himself as Gloria’s rival made her blush. Aside from tonight, she’d hardly spoken a full sentence to him in two years. Did he really still consider her a rival?

Either way, she did want to see what kind of new techniques he’d come up with while she’s been away.

Gloria nodded. “You realize that without anyone else around, this battle won’t count for anything, right?”

“Of course,” he replied. “That’s why I say we keep things simple. No items, no Dynamaxing, nothing but us and our Pokémon.”

“Fine by me.” Gloria beamed, a new energy coming back to her despite her fatigue.

Gloria assembled her team, including Sylveon, whom she practically had to pry away from Hop’s side. She’d forgotten that even before evolving from and Eevee to a Sylveon, he’d always been fond of Hop.

They went into Gloria’s training room – a modification she’d made in her penthouse about five years ago. “I hope it’s okay that I have home court advantage,” she said, doing a quick stretch.

“With any luck, I won’t need home court advantage anyway.”

“That’s a bold statement coming from someone who’s about the battle the Galar Champion. You haven’t even battled me since we were, what, fifteen?”

Hop rolled his right shoulder to warm it up. This was something he’d always done before battles as a kid. Truly, some things never changed. “Don’t worry, I’ve watched all your battles on the telly. I’m well aware of what I’m getting myself into.”

He’d watched _all_ of her battles? Gloria wasn’t sure if she should be flattered or worried, but she tried to push both feelings down. It was probably just something he did for research, anyway. He’d always tried to accumulate as much information about Pokémon as humanly possible, including watching battles.

Besides, there was no time to worry about that. It was battle time.

The battle was long, but it didn’t wear Gloria out like her long battles with Raihan and many other challengers usually did. In fact, battling her old friend who had clearly calculated some new strategies energized her in a way that few things could anymore. Part of Gloria was even disappointed when both she and Hop got down to their last Pokémon.

When Hop sent out his Dubwool, Gloria knew that he didn’t stand a chance. Dubwool was a fine Pokémon, but Gloria’s last Pokémon was Sylveon, and Sylveon was strong enough to take on Raihan’s Duraludon despite having type disadvantage.

Gloria clutched Sylveon’s Poké Ball, grinning. “You sure you don’t want to give up now, mate? I’d feel bad if I had to hurt your sweet Dubwool.”

Hop pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose and said, “You should know I don’t give up. I learned that from you.”

“Very well,” Gloria replied, feeling her cheeks flush at Hop’s compliment. she tossed her final ball. “Go, Sylveon!”

Sylveon burst out of the Poké Ball, squeaking in excitement and looking as wide-eyed as ever. Gloria saw Sylveon look from Dubwool to Hop, then leap for joy. It made both Hop and Gloria smile.

“I’m glad you’re as excited as I am, boy,” Gloria said to Sylveon. “Now, let’s win this! Sylveon, use Moonblast!”

Almost inaudibly, Hop muttered, “Oh no.”

But no Moonblast came. Instead, Sylveon charged up to Hop and leapt into his arms. As soon as Hop caught him, Sylveon brilled and licked Hop’s face, making Hop laugh in surprise.

“Not now, boy!” Hop giggled. “You’re supposed to be fighting me, not kissing me!”

Gloria was mortified. “Ah! I’m so sorry. My Pokémon never interrupt battle like this. Sylveon, get back here now!”

Patting the top of Sylveon’s head, Hop said, “Oh, it’s all right. I would’ve lost to you anyway.”

“You’re giving up?” Gloria asked with a surprised cough.

Hop shrugged, still holding Sylveon lovingly. “Let’s face it, it’s more like admitting defeat at this point. Maybe I’m never meant to beat you.”

Gloria felt an invisible tug in her chest. She didn’t want this to end. She wanted to keep battling Hop until the sun came up. “What are you on about? You’re my rival! You’ve got to keep challenging me!” She planted her feet. “You can’t just stop now.”

“Seriously, Gloria, it’s all right.” Hop said. He walked up to Gloria, still holding Sylveon. “Sylveon doesn’t want to fight right now. We can battle again later.” He leaned down slightly to place Sylveon in Gloria’s arms. She accepted the Pokémon with one arm, and with the other arm she reached toward the back of Hop’s head and pushed him in closer. When he was close enough, she pressed her lips against his.

At first, she could feel how tense he was, like he wasn’t sure what was happening, but it only took him a moment to kiss her back.

Dang, when was the last time Gloria had kissed anybody?

It was a quick kiss, and when they pulled away from each other, Gloria looked up at Hop and saw that his cheeks had flushed pink. She realized her face was probably pink, too, and most likely an even brighter shade.

Sylveon let out an excited brill. Hop straightened back up, adjusting his crooked glasses. Gloria and Hop smiled at each other.

The next morning, Gloria woke up around 9 AM. She sat up in a jolt. It had been ages since she’d slept in that late – had she slept through her 6 AM alarm? Had none of her Pokémon woken her up demanding breakfast?

Gloria checked her Rotom phone. She had two missed calls and a text from Marnie. That was odd – she hardly ever heard from Marnie anymore. She checked Marnie’s text:

“Hop told me about last night. Cheers m8”

Gloria smiled, shaking her head. Hop had never been able to keep a secret – in fact, when he and Leon were kids, Leon used to call him “Rookidee” because of the way he used to “sing like a Rookidee,” so to speak, when he was supposed to keep something to himself. Gloria wouldn’t be surprised if half the people she knew had already heard that she’d kissed Hop.

She realized then that the man she was thinking about was still in her flat. She jumped out of bed, noticing in passing that all her Pokémon were still asleep. Her Pokémon never slept this late. She must have pushed them too hard last night.

When Gloria left her bedroom, she saw Hop still sleeping on her couch, with Sylveon curled up under his arm.

Gloria smiled. At the sight of Hop and Sylveon fast asleep in the mid-morning, she decided that today would be perfect for taking a day off to stay in.


End file.
